Arizona AG Backs Off Pressuring Court To Declare Cannabis Concentrates Illegal
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]O[/dropcap]n Oct. 22, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich withdrew his arguments that urged the state’s Supreme Court to declare that hashish and cannabis extracts illegal in all situations.
Brnovich told the Supreme Court justices to ignore a filing he made almost two weeks ago, explaining that he was fearful of unintended consequences for patients, including children.
Arizona voted to allow medical cannabis legal in 2010, and since then the discussion of legal status of cannabis extracts has been under fire. A court case involving a medical cannabis card carrier is heading to the Supreme Court and will decide whether a loophole in state law will continue to mean possession of cannabis extracts could risk a chance of felony charges for cannabis patients in the state.
The law currently includes mixtures and preparations. The Arizona Department of Health Services has created rules that allowed for several forms of cannabis to be used, including edibles. “The last thing the attorney general wants is to deny medicine to legitimate patients that may be ingesting their marijuana an in extract or a tincture-type of a form,” said his spokesman Ryan Anderson. Apparently, Brnovich is convinced his comments would have further implications than he intended. He stated it may be that the voter-approved law may intend to include forms other than cannabis flowers and leaves, including cannabis extracts. “The Attorney General has a responsibility to uphold the will of the Arizona voters.”
Previously, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that patients can be arrested if they are found cannabidiol (CBD) oil, vape pens, concentrates and hashish, and the plaintiff in the case, Rodney Jones, did a year in jail for being found with 0.05 ounces of hashish.
“It seems implausible that the intent of the electorate was that the only way that that medication could be administered to them would be by smoking a joint,” said attorney Robert Mandel as reported by NPR last week. Mandel is asking the state’s Supreme Court to overturn the conviction.
